Surgical Shaw
Prolific striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw became Jamaica’s all-time leading scorer — man or woman — as the Reggae Girlz slammed United States Virgin Islands (USVI) 7-0 to end their Group B Concacaf Women’s Olympic Caribbean Qualifying phase on a high at National Stadium yesterday.
Shaw, 22, secured a five-timer in the sixth, 14th, 20th, 28th and 74th minutes to take her tally for Jamaica to 40 goals, also becoming the youngest player in the Concacaf region to achieve the milestone.
Cheyna Matthews (eighth) and Trudi Carter (31st) got the others, as the Jamaicans finished with maximum 12 points, scoring 37 goals and conceding one in four games.
Second-placed Cuba earlier got by St Lucia 6-1 in a game of academic interest only to end on nine points.
By virtue of topping Group B, Jamaica join Caribbean neighbours Haiti, as well as the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico in the final round with two Central American and one more Caribbean team to be confirmed.
The Jamaicans again wasted little time to swing the floodgates open, as early strikes two minutes apart by Shaw and Matthews got the show on the road inside the first 10 minutes.
Shaw grabbed her second and made it 3-0 with a comfortable finish from close range.
And six minutes later, Shaw got her third when she toe-poked one over the head of Mikenzl Glover in goal for US Virgin Islands after a slight mix-up between the custodian and her defender.
It continued to rain goals in the first half and Shaw registered her fourth when she expertly headed home a weighted cross from Matthews, who broke down the right channel.
A composed-looking Carter turned well on a group of defenders and the advancing Glover before firing a left-footed effort into an empty net from the top of the 18-yard box to put Jamaica 6-0 up at the break.
The Jamaicans squandered numerous chances on the resumption before Shaw completed her five-timer and milestone with a well-taken free kick that lodged in the right-hand corner of the net, leaving Glover a mere spectator.
That was all the Jamaicans would get in the half, as the US Virgin Islands put in a better defensive display that dried up the flow of goals.